Executive Summary and Conclusions

Project Mala Schools in India - Impact and Creating Educational Culture
the full version of the report is available from Project Mala.

• Project Mala schools have been effective in providing quality primary educational alternative to the children of weaving community and has stopped their abuse and exploitation for work activities. These schools provide three years of accelerated primary education equivalent to five years of schooling in the formal schools. After completing the three years of non-formal schooling in the Project Mala schools, efforts are made to mainstream the children into formal schools.

• Project Mala has grown from a mere one school enrolling 300 children in 1990 to 6 schools with enrolment of 1050 children. Every year around 275 children pass out from the Project Mala schools.

• Project Mala Schools over the years has become like a brand name which leaves behind a legacy. A mere association with Project Mala schools in Mirzapur itself rings a bell in the minds of the stakeholders. These schools have excellent infrastructure facility and image of quality education provider, who also provide quality nutrition, health care and other basic services for the marginalized people.

• All the 6 Project Mala Schools are accessible and the school buildings are designed specially to provide quality education infrastructure for Non-formal education. The Schools have spacious and well-ventilated lecture halls, vocational training, and dinning halls. The School buildings stand out impressively from rest of the surroundings and are hygienically and aesthetically constructed and appropriately landscaped with refreshing plantation, spacious front lawns, sports field, and kitchen garden. All the schools have drinking water and toilet facilities.

• The study indicates that 65% boys and 61% girls continue further education, while 13% boys and 11% girls join work and the rest 22% boys and 28% girls remain idle at homes after completing the Project Mala Schooling.

• The quality of education provided by the Project Mala schools is good as a significant proportion of children (40% boys and 62% girls) are enrolled in class 7 and 8 directly after completing only three years of non-formal education in the Project Mala schools.

• Although mainstreaming in the formal schools is attempted effectively but follow-up and appropriate monitoring of the enrolled students in the formal schools is weak, with the result a significant number of ex- Project Mala children drop out from formal school within two to five years. However several Ex-Project Mala children (27% boys and 31% girls who were enrolled in formal schools) have completed formal schooling up to class 10.

• The nature of job undertaken by Ex-Project Mala School children were diversified as compared to the jobs undertaken by the non-school going children. Small self trade activity was one of the new job activities taken by the Ex-Project Mala school children.

• Similarly the earning capacity showed improvement among the ex-Project Mala students as compared to the non-schooling going children thereby depicting positive impact for seeking their due entitlements from the employers after the Project Mala schooling.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Project Mala should follow-up and monitor the progress of the students after completing education from the Project Mala schools vigorously. Follow-up action programmes of mainstreamed children into formal schools should be in place. Monitoring of the enrolled children in the formal schools should be given top priority and if necessary fee, books and other stationery should be given to the students, so that they could continue education in formal schools.

• Project Mala should consider developing a boarding middle/ high school for the children who have passed out from the six Project Mala schools. Since it is not possible to open middle/ high school in all the villages where Project Mala is operating their schools, therefore developing one boarding school especially at Guria should be given serious thought, as it would stop drop-out rates of the mainstreamed students and would encourage children to complete middle/ high education.

• Sponsorship of meritorious students in higher education institutions (colleges, universities and technical degrees) should be initiated by the Project Mala.

Professor Bupinder Zutshi ( [email protected])

Centre for the Study of Regional Development

Jawaharlal Nehru University

New Delhi - India